Redding man 'plagued by digital spirits' gets prison for murder

A Redding man who was convicted this month of first-degree murder in the 2016 stabbing death of another Redding man was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A Shasta County jury had found Corey Leon Willyard, 28, guilty of first-degree murder, battery, first-degree residential burglary and vehicle theft surrounding the stabbing death of 27-year-old Cody Anthony Graham.

The jury affirmed special allegations that Willyard murdered Graham by lying in wait and using a deadly weapon, according to the Shasta County District Attorney's Office.

Following the jury trial, a court trial was held where Judge Adam Ryan determined Willyard to be legally sane at the time of the murder.

In the sanity hearing, Willyard took the witness stand and told the court that he's been plagued by voices and "digital spirits" or apparitions haunting him.

It was those spirits that led him to fatally stab Graham, he said.

"They never go away," he said on the stand, adding that he also used methamphetamine before the killing.

On Nov. 20, 2016, Willyard stabbed Graham while he was asleep in bed, the DA's office said, adding Graham died from having his trachea and carotid artery severed. The murder occurred in the 1100 block of Yogi Court in north Redding.

According to a Redding police report, Martin Hobbs, who lives in a trailer outside the home, told police that Willyard had been acting strange and apparently believed Graham may have been drugging a woman who lived there. Hobbs also told police that Willyard was adamant that “something should be done.”

Willyard, who family members described as mentally ill, left the home after the stabbing and police arrested him two days later after a traffic stop in Bella Vista.

Willyard was on mandatory supervision after being released from the Shasta County Jail two days before he murdered Graham, the DA's office said. He had six prior felony convictions and had been to prison.